Dark MaidenCh 2: His Feelings, Her Secrets
by tipsy.jillz
Summary: First Sign of Lucillia's secret


CHAPTER 2:  
HIS FEELINGS, HER SECRETS

"Her name is Lucillia, you say?" Derek asked Shawn.  
"Yeah, so what do you think of her? I mean, after all that's said and done."  
"She sounds interesting. Is she cute?"  
"She's stunning." Her image flashed across his mind.  
"That may be all fine and good for you, but do you think Karen will appreciate it if she finds out?" Derek asked in a mocking tone.  
Shawn flashed a dirty look at him.  
"Karen's a sweet girl, Derek, but she's not my type."  
"What is your type by the way?"  
"Shut up."  
Derek laughed and threw his empty beer keg at his garbage can from where he was sitting, successfully making the shot.  
Derek had sandy blonde hair, but it was always covered with a ridiculous purple hat that he owned from a child, so a few of his curls were left exposed. Derek's eyes were green and almond-shaped but wore black-rimmed glasses. He had golden stubble, from his upper jaw down to his chin and his upper lip. Derek's always had it that way. He may have looked rugged, but it suited him well. Derek, unlike Shawn, was nicely tanned, but just as skinny. Derek had striking features, no doubt, but he never cared for his image.  
He, unlike Shawn, was loud and outgoing, funny and laughed often. He went out a lot, especially to parties, and indulged in heavy drinking. How two became such close friends, was a mystery.  
Shawn was at Derek's house. The two sat in his filthy room, his stereo blasting loud rock music in the background. Derek was lounging in his large, red beanie cushion and Shawn sat at his computer chair.  
"So are you going to ask her out anytime soon?"  
Shawn was thrown off at the sudden question and stared at him."…I had thought about it, but, I'm afraid I'll get nervous and babble like an idiot."  
Three days had past since Shawn had met Lucillia, and not for one moment had she ever left his mind, so much that Shawn had dreamt about her once.  
"Nervous or not you have to call her sooner or later. If you let this go on any longer she'll either lose interest or will think that you did."  
"You're right," Shawn mumbled, "I'll call her today."

Around noon, Shawn tried calling Lucillia when he got home. It rung five times, then her answering machine picked up, her velvety voice gave Shawn the chills.  
"Hello, this is Lucillia, obviously not here right now and I apologize for my absence at this time, but if you would kindly leave a message I will get back to you as soon as possible Thank you, and goodbye."  
Shawn wasn't going to ask her out on her answering machine so he hung up the phone. At half past four, Shawn tried calling again. On the first ring, someone picked up.  
"Hello?" the familiar voice rang through Shawn's ears. His heart began to race.  
"Hello, Lucillia?" he answered, his voice unstable.  
"Speaking…"  
"Um, this is Shawn Benton. The guy you met a few days ago at the nightclub." His statement sounded more like a question.  
"Oh, hi,"  
Shawn was relieved that she even remembered.  
"How've you been, Shawn?" her voice was very friendly.  
"I've been great, you?"  
"Good, thanks."  
Shawn closed his eyes and a shaky sigh escaped his throat. "Um, the reason that I'm calling was that I….I..." Shawn choked on his words.  
"Yes?" her voice was pleasantly low, but full of patience.  
"I….was wondering…if you weren't doing anything, would you like to do something later? With me?" Shawn held his breath, waiting for Lucillia's answer. There was a pause.  
"I would love to, Shawn."  
Shawn gripped the edge of his counter, suddenly feeling faint, but in a good way.  
She actually said yes.  
"But I can't today; I'm busy until later tonight. Would tomorrow be okay?"  
"….Tomorrow would be great. What time's good for you?"  
"Three-thirty would be fine."  
"Okay, um, can you meet me at that Greek restaurant downtown then?"  
"Akropolis, you mean?"  
"Yeah, that's the one."  
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Lucillia said.  
"Yes, tomorrow." He repeated then exhaled slowly, "Well, goodbye."  
"Goodbye, Shawn." The line went dead then, and Shawn was smiling triumphantly.

Shawn scrambled across his room, trying to get ready. He was hectic as he pulled out his three articles of clothing: a faux tan leather jacket, a white T-shirt, and jeans.  
He almost ran into the shower when the water warmed. Shawn had wasted no time in getting ready. Five minutes later he jumped out of the shower and wrapped his towel around his waist. Shawn tried to dry most of his wet, matted hair with the hair dryer, while trying to comb out its tangles.  
He pulled the plug from its socket when most of his hair was dried and made his way towards his room. He threw on his undergarments then pulled on his clothes. Shawn pushed his feet in his socks and tennis, falling over a few times in the process.  
Shawn had taken the liberty of brushing his teeth while he was in the shower. He dabbed some cologne behind his ears and on his clothes. Finally, Shawn grabbed his wallet and a pack of Altoids, chewing on three as he made his way out the house and into his car.

It was three-twenty-five when Shawn had finally found a parking space after circling the lot a few times. He paced himself, not wishing to appear scrambled and disheveled. After exiting the parking lot, the restaurant came into sight and so did she. Shawn's stomach felt fluttery as he approached her; she looked intimidating.  
"Hey, Lucillia." He greeted.  
The blank expression broke from Lucillia's face when she heard his voice. She was looking off in an opposite direction before Shawn came, and looked surprised, as if she didn't expect him to show. Shawn decided to ignore it, instead of fretting over small things like he usually did.  
"Hey, Shawn." A genuine smile lit up her face, which made it friendlier.  
"Are you ready to go inside?" he asked.  
"Ready when you are."  
Shawn opened the glass door and stepped to the side, allowing Lucillia to pass. The restaurant's lighting was dim, and warm, so warm that Lucillia had to take off her black sweater, exposing her small, delicate shoulders. There were quite a few people there, but it wasn't crowded.  
A male waiter approached them, and greeted the two with a small, but friendly smile. He was young, but sported a shaved head, though his body seemed well-built. Ironically, the waiter spoke with a thick Italian accent.  
"A table for two?"  
"Yes, please." Shawn replied.  
"And if it isn't too much trouble, can we have our own private booth instead of the tables?" Lucillia softly and calmly requested.  
"No trouble at all. We have a few there farther down," The waiter said pointing with his pen. "Follow me, please." He led them to a booth that was three seats down from the entrance. Shawn and Lucillia slid into the cushioned seats opposite of each other. The waiter handed the two their menus, "I'll be back in five minutes to take your order." Shawn nodded and the waiter walked away.  
Shawn looked over to meet Lucillia's gaze, then blinked in surprise.  
Lucillia sat perfectly still, smiling at him. It was like looking at a porcelain doll; she didn't even blink. The edges of her mouth were merely and slightly upturned. It was enough to melt any man's heart, but it was the complete opposite for Shawn. Lucillia's grey eyes especially gave her expression a chilling effect.  
_Wait a minute_, Shawn then thought, Grey?  
"Are you wearing contacts, Lucillia?" Shawn absent-mindedly blurted out, then immediately blushed with embarrassment.  
She finally blinked, thank goodness. "Contacts? No, this is my natural eye color, why?"  
Shawn just stared at Lucillia in confused awe, "….But, I'm almost certain that your eyes were brown when I met you…" Shawn couldn't believe what he saying, he felt like a complete idiot, but he was so sure, almost sure, that what he saw was what he saw. Lucillia shouldn't have to lie about her eye color --- should she?  
"Well who knows, they probably were." She admitted, shrugging.  
"Probably? What are you saying??" Shawn almost became hysterical.  
"Actually, I was hoping that you didn't notice that."  
"Notice what?!" he shrieked. Lucillia then frowned, confused at Shawn's sudden tone.  
"Is something the matter, Shawn?"  
He sighed then ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry, Lucillia. It's just that I'm really nervous."  
"Haven't you ever been on a date with a girl before?" she asked jokingly  
"Once or twice." Shawn softly admitted.  
"Is that all?" she asked incredulously, somehow finding the idea hard to believe.  
"I'm not very…how you say, bold enough to even approach a girl, let alone ask her out on a date."  
"You approached me, you asked me out." Lucillia pointed out.  
"I know. I'm surprised at myself actually. I still can't believe that I was able to do what I did without going into a nervous breakdown and everything else that followed after that."  
"But now you're back to your old self again." This wasn't a question, and Shawn nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah, and I'm sorry to say this but, you aren't exactly making it any easier for me.  
Lucillia looked offended, "Me?"  
"D-Don't take it the wrong way but, you can look pretty intimidating when you're ready. I mean….you may not notice but I really get nervous every time I see you."  
Lucillia just looked at him, "I still don't know whether I'm supposed to be offended or not…"  
"Please don't be. It's really my fault. I'm making this into a bigger issue than it really is. I blank out, at the most awkward times. It's an odd defense-mechanism that I have."  
Lucillia fiddled with her menu and flashed a sharp look at Shawn.  
"You're not going to leave are you?" Then the oddest thing happened. Lucillia's eyes had suddenly flickered to red ---- a bloody red, then back to grey. It happened so quickly Shawn wasn't sure if he was seeing things or not, but was nonetheless stunned.  
"…How did you do that?" Shawn asked incredulously, while leaning over as far as the table can allow, taking a closer look at Lucillia's eyes. He was hoping that he wasn't going insane.  
"Do what?"  
"..Wha-change your eye color like that! I...I think it just turned red!" Lucillia looked at him as he were crazy, and then smiled apologetically.  
"I'm sorry, Shawn. I should've probably mentioned my eye condition, a disorder if you will. Especially when you noticed their change in color.  
"What?"  
"You were right, my eyes were brown the night you met me."  
Shawn was officially confused. Had Lucillia lost her mind?  
"What are you talking about, Lucillia?"  
"I have M.E.C.D."  
"What's M.E.C.D.?"  
"Multiple Eye Color Disorder. Well it's not an actual disorder; it's just a hereditary freak gene. I inherited it from my father. Apparently, there are only five people on earth who actually have it; including my father and I. As you can see, it's extremely rare."  
"What does it do?"  
"My iris can change colors according to my mood."  
"Your mood…" Shawn repeated in disbelief.  
Lucillia nodded, "The eye itself releases some sort of strange chemical to the brain when light enters the retina. The chemical travels to lobe where the emotions are controlled. And when I'm displaying a certain emotion, the chemical triggers the pigment in my iris; altering the color. It's all very confusing. There is a specific color for every emotion."  
"Example?"  
"Grey is when I'm relaxed, calm."  
"Aaah...what about red?"  
"Anger." She replied with a cold smile. Shawn looked away,  
"Sorry about that."  
"No, it's okay, really.. You've just met me. So you're reacting the way that I expected."  
"That must be hard for you."  
"Nah, I'm used to it."  
"So," attempting to change the conversation to a lighter topic," Basically you're a walking mood ring?"  
"Yeah, pretty much." Lucillia grinned and surprisingly so did Shawn. Almost on cue the waiter had returned.  
"Sorry about the delay. Are you two ready to order?" Shawn and Lucillia looked at each other when they realized that they hadn't even touched the menus. They practically forgot that they were in the restaurant altogether.  
"Oh wow, we didn't even look at the menus yet." Lucillia said.  
"Should I come back later then?" the waiter asked.  
"No, I've been here before so I know what I want. I'll have the Greek pizza without the olives, please?" The waiter scribbled down Lucillia's order then looked over at Shawn.  
"And for you?"  
Shawn quickly glanced over the menu, not familiar with any of the food, "I'll just have what she's having." Shawn finally decided, handing his menu over to the waiter.  
"And to drink?"  
"Do you have root beer?" Shawn asked.  
"Yes, sir."  
"I'll just have water, thanks." Lucillia gave the waiter her menu as well.  
"Your food will be ready in twenty minutes." And with that, he left.  
"Now that we've broken the ice, tell me a bit about yourself, Shawn."  
"Well, what's there to say? I'm twenty-one, I've lived in Hertfordshire all of my life, I'm attending college ---"  
"What are you majoring in?"  
"Human Anatomy."  
"Wow, impressive."  
"Thanks."  
"Anything else?"  
"Nothing in particular." Shawn fiddled with the pepper shaker beside him.  
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"  
Shawn accidentally knocked over the shaker, and then began to stammer, "I'm…too…em-embarrassed to...s-say..." Lucillia picked up the shaker and then placed it perfectly aligned with the other one. Lucillia then reached for Shawn's hands, taking them into hers. Her hands were amazingly soft, but very cold. Shawn's butterflies soon turned into bats.  
"It's okay, Shawn."  
Shawn somehow found himself trusting her. He didn't know how or why, but just by the look in her eyes, her insanely bizarre eyes, he felt calm.  
"Of course, by the looks of it, I'm guessing that the answer was a 'no'."  
Shawn nodded shyly.  
"No problem. It's actually better that way. It's also less likely that you will have any emotional attachments to anyone you've been with or known in the past."  
"I can barely handle a date, Lucillia. What do you think would happen if I had to maintain a relationship with someone?"  
"So you're not into commitment."  
"The word alone makes me cringe." Shawn weakly admitted.  
"So, if we continued seeing each other, and it came to a point in the relationship where we could start something more…..serious, would you want to go through with it.?"  
"Depends on how I feel about you at that point." Shawn's face flushed with embarrassment.  
Lucillia's iris switched again---to purple this time. "How do you feel about me now?" she asked softly, now leaning over towards Shawn. He was drawn by her eyes somehow.  
"Right now, I feel…strongly attracted to you. You're strange, but I'm drawn to you nonetheless. You make me want to get to know you better, though I'm sure there's something…something about you that I should probably watch out for." Shawn blinked then looked at Lucillia in awe, "Amazing"

"What?"  
Shawn stared at Lucillia, "What are you feeling now?"  
"You mean they changed again?"  
"They've been purple for awhile now."  
"Well I guess I'm feeling pretty happy right now."  
"I'm glad. Um, how many colors have you seen them change to?"  
"Ten. Brown is my natural eye color, so at that point I'm pretty much emotionless. Hazel is excited, blue is sadness, grey, like I mentioned earlier, and is when I'm calm. Yellow is jealousy, purple is happy, red is anger (watch out for that one) and pink is---"Lucillia stopped.  
"Is?" Shawn asked.  
"Love-struck." She actually frowned when she answered him.  
"Oh. The others?"  
"Whitish-silver is when I'm frightened and black is hatred."  
"Interesting."  
The waiter arrived once again, holding a tray which carried their food and drinks. He placed it on the table then neatly and orderly, placed them in front of the two The waiter pulled out two coasters from his pocket and placed them on the table.  
"Enjoy your food." He said politely.  
"Thanks." They both replied in unison.  
"So, are olives like your pet peeve or something? Or is it that you just don't eat them?" Shawn plucked one from off his pizza then looked at Lucillia.  
"I do eat olives,"  
Shawn popped the olive into his mouth.  
"It's just that here, their olives are so salty."  
He chewed then his face twisted into a painful expression, "Ugh, you're right. They really are." Shawn agreed, spitting the chewed-up olive into his napkin. Lucillia laughed when he tried to wash the bitter taste away with his root beer.

The dock was at a walking distance, not very far from Akropolis. It was there, where they continued their conversation; which eventually got deeper, and more intimate. Shawn did most of the talking, Lucillia just listened and commented. It wasn't until sundown that they decided to call it a day.  
"I haven't had that much fun in quite awhile," Lucillia commented as Shawn escorted her to her car.  
"Me neither. We should probably do it again sometime." Shawn quietly suggested.  
"I think so too."  
"Wow, really?"  
"Of course! I really had a great time with you Shawn." Lucillia said, unlocking her car door. She slid inside and held onto its handle. "Call me later, alright?"  
"Don't worry, I will." Shawn replied in calm bewilderment.  
"Bye." Lucillia blew him a kiss then closed the door. Lucillia sighed as she drove out of the parking lot. She slightly turned her head to the back seat, "Mena are you back there?"  
She sat up, her black hair a chaotic mess. "You're back." She answered yawning.  
How long have you been here?" Lucillia said grinning at Mena's hair.  
"Just two hours. He sure has a mouth on him, that boy of yours."  
"When he gets comfortable."  
"But I must say that you're doing a fine job. Playing all sweet and innocent; you almost had me fooled for a moment there."  
"It's all a part of the plan." Lucillia said reassuringly.  
"And you should stick to that plan."  
"But do you think he actually bought it though? I mean I felt like a huge fake the whole time."  
"Of course he bought it! He's completely oblivious! I've always said that you were talented, Lily. You should start a career in acting."  
Lucillia blew her bags, "I just hope that he'll be able to maintain his sanity after all of this is over."


End file.
